Okay, need to make something clear. Originally this was the revised third part of Marth's story, but since I don't like Dark Swordsman 1 and 2, I'm retconning them too. Just to be clear, the SAO arcs, Temporal Island arc, and Demon War arc did happen, just not the way they were shown in those stories (doubly so since they use plot elements I've long since abandoned). I currently have no plans to rewrite those stories as I want to move on to other projects (but I might if I feel motivated enough). When events in those mentioned arcs become relevant, I will give context to the best of my ability. Anyway, enjoy!


Chapter 8- Cyan Pile's Identity

September 29, 2056

By the time Marth and Rias returned to the hospital, things seemed to have quieted down. According to Fuko, a nurse had told them that Kuroyukihime had been put into the nanomachines to repair her internal organs, and thankfully, prevented her condition from worsening. However, she had no emergency contacts saved into her Neurolinker, which meant the doctors couldn't contact her family, meaning that only Marth's group were the only ones who knew about her condition.

Come to think of it, Marth didn't know anything about Kuroyukihime's family. She never really talked about them. Granted he never actually asked, but still, one would think she would make even a slight mention about them. Was there some kind of family dispute perhaps?

"Hey, Fuko, do you know Black Lotus's true identity?" Marth suddenly questioned.

The brunette gave an obedient nod of the head. "Yes, you know her as Kuroyukihime. She and I have even met in the real world several times back when the Black Legion, Nega Nebulus, was still around, before she was ousted as the Greatest Traitor of the Accelerated World. Naturally I know her real name, but I feel it is best for her to tell you it herself rather than me spoil the surprise."

"I see, and I'm guessing you haven't had contact with her over the last two years as well."

"Right as usual." Fuko paused for a moment as she suddenly lowered her head in shame. "We…had bit of a falling out a few weeks before she beheaded Red Rider. I fully blame myself for what happened, and it led to the depressed state I was in when we first met."

There was a beautiful woman leaning against the wall by the female Burst Linker. She had long vibrant purple hair that fell towards her waist and framed her face as well as piercing bloodred eyes. She was dressed in a formal black business shirt and vest, gray pants and tights, as well as black heels. Similar to Rias, despite looking human, the woman had a menacing presence to her, one that felt older than her physical appearance suggested. It was fitting for one commonly feared as the deadliest woman of all the realms. The Witch of Dun Scaith herself, Scathach, Kazuto's foster mother.

Long ago, before even the War of Light and Shadow ravaged the once united world, Scathach lived as an ordinary human from a small, isolated village. She had no noble title tied to her name nor had any blood ties to any of the gods of old. By all accounts, nothing should have stood out about her, and yet she managed to defy even that very expectation. If there was one thing that was universally known about Scathach, it was her talent for killing whatever opponent that dared to cross her path. Even the strongest among the Lemures trembled in fear at the thought of meeting their ends upon her cursed spear, Gae Bolg. Eventually even the gods took notice of her talent and found themselves feeling fear, worrying that even they were not safe from her wrath. In an act to punish Scathach, the gods placed a powerful curse upon her, denying her the thing any proud warrior would want, death on the battlefield. The Curse of the Living made it so that the victim would be rendered impossible to kill from the even the deadliest of wounds and said wounds would heal rather quickly.

Naturally one would consider a curse like this as a benefit rather than a hinderance as it would allow warriors to fight constantly without the fear of death, but of course, like with Marth's curse, there are side effects of this one as well. While not quite so dramatic as the curse that Marth was inflicted with upon becoming the Demon Lord of Wrath, the Curse of the Living takes a toll on the victim's soul. The human soul especially isn't meant to live for so long after all, that trait was only seen among fairies and demons after all. The unnaturally long lifespan was enough to drive most of the other human victims to madness. It was worse than death as while their wounds could not kill them, they still felt the same amount of pain as they normally would feel. Truly it is a terrible fate.

And despite all that, Scathach managed to persevere despite all the odds being against her. Granted, it wasn't all thanks to her own skills and willpower that she managed to survive for thousands of years, the longest any human as been able to live with her affliction, although it definitely pushed her to her limits as she struggled to handle her immortality. One of the gods took pity on her and wished to help ease her burden. That god was none other than the Goddess of Darkness, Sinestra, the very goddess who created the demon race. Sinestra infused Scathach with some of her blood, turning the warrior into a demigod of sorts. The blood transfusion helped her soul to adapt to its newfound longevity. In gratitude for Sinestra's help, Scathach swore her allegiance to the goddess, helping to defend the lands of Eternus. It was actually thanks to that very oath that it led to her meeting Rias and Altena, who would become her closest friends and confidants.

Marth had never seen Scathach lose a fight she had been in. Her skill as a warrior and rune magic practitioner was simply unmatched. Even Rias and Medusa had difficulty overcoming her, and they were incredibly powerful as well, with Rias being one of the Seven Demon Lords while Medusa is a minor goddess. Supposedly there was only one person who could fight the Witch of Dun Scaith head-to-head. It was another immortal warrior, one fittingly sworn to protect Arun, the realm of the fairies. Lady Lianna Pendragon, the Saint of Arun, and the wielder of the divine weapon, Rhongomyniad, a holy spear said to be able to pierce the very heavens.

Scathach let out an amused chuckle. "Interesting how things seem to be tying back to this Kuroyukihime," she commented with a sly grin. "If you two didn't have that falling out, you might never have met Marth and the others."

Surprisingly, Fuko shook her head at that. "I don't think so. I think that Marth and I would have crossed paths eventually. Even if things changed slightly, nothing could stop us from meeting. I'm just grateful that he was there when I needed help the most."

No one made a comment regarding that last sentence, especially the demon prince. They all knew how much of an impact Marth had made on Fuko's life during their first encounter. But that was a story for another day. Right now, he had to focus on protecting Kuroyukihime. Cyan Pile was still out there and thanks to the price of using Physical Full Burst, the Black King had lost 99 percent of her points. If she was challenged to even a single duel while she was still comatose, she would lose Brain Burst forever, preventing her from ever discovering its true purpose, the thing she was so desperate to learn that she was willing to dye her hands red with blood over it. It would be gone before one could even blink.

Leaning against the side of the wall, Marth asked softly, "Any ideas on how to stop Cyan Pile?"

Kazuto let out a grimace. "Unfortunately, no. We could probably trace their location by using the backdoor program they installed in Kisara's Neurolinker, but that opens the risk of them challenging Kuroyukihime and finishing her off in a duel. There's no doubt in my mind that Cyan Pile knows that she's incapacitated. If they are as desperate for burst points as you say they are, then they'll definitely jump at this chance."

"Can't we just do it somewhere else then?" Kisara suggested. "Kuroyukihime's Neurolinker is connected to the hospital's local net rather than the global net. That means the likelihood of her getting challenged to a duel to be rather low."

"It's a possibility, but very risky," Fuko replied. "Just because Lotus's Neurolinker isn't connected to the global net doesn't mean she's safe from getting challenged to duels. All Cyan Pile has to do is come to this hospital and connect to its local network, then he can freely challenge her while she's unguarded and unconscious."

"Wow, you kids sure got yourselves into quite a pickle," Scathach mused in a rather amused tone. "Still, it is disgusting that someone would attack an opponent when they clearly can't defend themselves. Is this Brain Burst program really worth it that much?"

Kazuto slightly grimaced at that. "Brain Burst is a very addictive game," he explained solemnly. "It draws you in with its acceleration features and makes you want to continue accelerating by collecting more burst points. There are some players who are so obsessed with it that they'll constantly harass certain players if they know their real names until those people are drained dry."

"Yes, it is a rather harsh game," Fuko agreed. "I myself have heard horror stories of some Burst Linkers falling victim to such hunts. To think that it would happen to my old Legion Master and friend is unthinkable."

"Um," Yuna spoke up suddenly, causing everyone to face her. "There's still one thing about this ordeal that's bothering me. How did Cyan Pile plant that backdoor program onto my lady's Neurolinker so that they could constantly challenge Kuroyukihime to duels? Something just isn't adding up about that."

She was right. Aside from Cyan Pile's identity, how that backdoor program even got onto his beloved sister's Neurolinker was a mystery to the demon prince. How the heck did Cyan Pile pull that off? Could they have hacked in while Kisara was web-browsing? No that can't be it as they could never get past the multiple firewalls protecting the device to plant the virus. It was simply impossible to plant a virus on Neurolinker through the Internet.

And then the realization hit him. There was a way to bypass those protective firewalls, and it was a method that he had been inadvertently using for the past three days. Direct wired connection. Unlike wireless calls, directs are transferred between Neurolinkers through a wired cable, allowing for totally private communication provided both participants were able to neurospeak. Directs also allowed people to access the other person's Neurolinker and go through the data stored inside it, all the while bypassing the very firewalls that had protected the device. Through this method, it would be easy to plant a backdoor virus if the hacker was covert enough.

This revelation alone drastically reduced the number of potential suspects as for who Cyan Pile was. While Kisara wasn't as cold to people as Marth is, she would never have a direct with a total stranger or even an acquaintance. She would only do it with someone she truly trusted. Both Kazuto and Fuko were out since while they were Burst Linkers, their avatar names were not Cyan Pile. Asuna was also out as she wasn't tech savvy enough to even pull the feat off, not to mention that Kuroyukihime mentioned that she couldn't challenge Cyan Pile herself while she was connected to Umesato High's local net. This fact also eliminated Shino, plus given how close the sniper is to Kisara, it was unthinkable that she would backstab her like this.

That left only one person remaining and it made his stomach tense up. Takumu Mayuzumi, the boy that Kisara was getting closer to. Marth couldn't believe it. Yet again, a boy didn't take an interest in his sister because they liked her, but because they saw her as a potential tool to use for a stupid game. He had to hand it to Takumu though for hiding his true colors. Not even the demon prince sensed something amiss regarding his personality. Although now that he thought about it, he had noticed something odd about Taku's recent kendo matches. Some of his attacks and blocks were too fast to be done normally (for a regular human anyway). It was almost like he could predict his opponent's movements and move accordingly to properly handle it.

While such a feat can be possible for Kazuto and the others, that was all because of the intense training they endured from the Witch of Dun Scaith. Ordinary professionals in kendo can pull it off too, but that's all because of their years' worth of experience. While Takumu was indeed skilled, he was still a little too young to pull off feats like that.

"Is something wrong, Brother?" Kisara suddenly asked, her dazzling bloodred eyes staring into his own. "You look troubled. Are you okay?" Everyone else looked rather concerned as well.

At this moment, Marth hated himself and his quick thinking. He loved his sister with all his heart and hated seeing her upset over anything. Heck, he pummeled any guys that foolishly broke Kisara's heart or tried to take advantage of her, so much so that he nearly got suspended a few times over it. And now he must break the news to her that the new guy she might have liked used her as well.

"I know who Cyan Pile is," he said slowly, each word hard to get out. "It's Takumu. He used Kisara to get to the Black King, to Kuroyukihime."

A collection of gasps could be heard from everyone else. Kisara in particular looked visibly distraught by the revelation. Her eyes were already starting to water and her lips trembled, words struggling to come out of her pale mouth.

"N-no. It can't be," she stuttered out. "Taku wouldn't do that. He wouldn't." As if on que, Yuna pulled her master into a hug, allowing the young demon to bury her head in her chest.

"My lady," the familiar said softly as she stroked her master's soft hair with one hand.

"Unfortunately, Kisara, I think Marth is right," Kazuto spoke up firmly. "Given what we know about Cyan Pile, Takumu is the prime suspect. Besides Fuko, he's the only one in your friend group that doesn't attend Umesato High School, meaning he wouldn't normally show up on the match list if one was connected to the school's local net. I hate to say it, but Takumu just was using you to challenge any Burst Linkers at our school."

Those words seemed to break whatever dam was keeping Kisara's tears at bay as the waterworks flew immediately afterward. Marth, on the other hand, found himself balling his hands into fists, squeezing his fingers so tight that they turned white. Anger was boiling up from within him, more than what he felt when Araya tried to kill him and Kuroyukihime. He was quite literally shooting sparks of purple lightning off of his body and his hair was swaying in a slight black gale.

"That bastard will pay for this dearly!" he declared venomously. "I'll sever his arms off and shove them down his lying throat. Anyone who mistreats my sister deserves death of the highest order!"

For some reason, Fuko nervously chuckled at that before approaching the male demon and taking his hands into her own. "I think you're taking this a bit too far, Marth. Unlike with what happened with me, we don't fully know Takumu's mindset. He could genuinely care about her and just had a relapse in judgement."

Once again, Marth found his anger dissipating thanks to the brunette's sudden contact and her calm words, the wind and sparks fading away. As much as he hated to admit it, Fuko was right. He still has yet to hear Takumu's side of the story, or at least hear whatever pathetic excuse he'll give to justify this abuse in trust.

Eventually the hospital was able to get in contact with Kuroyukihime's family through the school, but weirdly enough, rather than a member of said family come to check on the girl, a man claiming to be their lawyer showed up instead, filling out all the paperwork in a mere fifteen minutes. He hardly even glanced in the group's direction.

All this made Marth even more suspicious about his guardian's family. Why didn't they come and make sure she was alright instead of sending a lawyer over? If Kisara had gotten into an accident, he would have rushed to her at a moment's notice an offer his support, no matter what. Just what was going with this family?

He couldn't ask Fuko about it. She and Hime haven't been in contact with each other for the last two years and he had no reason to suspect her of lying to him. There was no way she would know what was going on behind the scenes.

Marth's thoughts were interrupted when he saw a young and exhausted doctor approached them. The doctor explained that they had managed to stop the bleeding but there was still extensive damage to her organs, meaning she could go into shock at any moment. The synthetic protein nanomachines were doing everything they could to repair the damage, but in the end, the result will depend on the strength of the patient.

"I'm not gonna lie, she's in serious condition. The next twelve hours will be critical. Although, I should also mention that her body seems to be fighting to survive."

Rias raised an eyebrow at that. "What do you mean?"

"Well, this is going to sound a little crazy, but during the surgery it looked like her internal organs were trying to repair themselves, at a much faster rate than normal. This mysterious regeneration managed to help us stop the bleeding faster than expected."

"Does that mean Hime will be okay?" Fuko questioned hastily.

"Hard to say. I've never seen this happen before. Her blood was acting weird too. It was like there were particles of golden light shining in it, but that might have just been me seeing things."

Suddenly both Rias and Scathach gasped in shock.

"What?!" the Demon Lord of Lust questioned intently. "Are you sure about that?"

The doctor seemed understandably confused, but slowly nodded his head in confirmation. "I-I think so, but that could have just been a trick of the light or just my exhaustion. Blood doesn't glow like that after all."

"Human blood doesn't anyway," Scathach muttered under her breath, more talking to herself than to anyone around her.

The doctor left soon afterward and the nurse that had accompanied him went to fetch a blanket for the group as they all decided to stay in the hospital overnight in case Kuroyukihime's condition plummeted. As they waited, Marth tossed a knowing glance towards his mother, who seemed to be biting her lip, a clear sign that she was troubled by something.

"What's wrong, Mom?" he asked in concern.

It took a moment for the elder demon to acknowledge his question. After a few seconds, she took a deep breath and finally answered with, "As you all know, demon blood differs from that of human blood, with it being black instead of red. The dark color is because of our ties to our progenitor, the Goddess of Darkness, Sinestra. But they aren't the only beings whose blood differs from humans. Fairies, the children of the Goddess of Light, Mitra, have a similar difference. While the blood of the fairy race is red like that of the humans, the fairies also have the additional trait of their blood shimmering with golden light."

All of the teens were shocked by this revelation, especially Marth and Fuko. It was understandable really. The student vice president of Umesato High School and the Black King, Kuroyukihime, was actually a fairy. That explained her unusual presence that felt similar to the demon siblings, yet different. Like them, she wasn't human. She never was.

"Wow," Kazuto said casually. "Didn't expect that."

Yuna let out a slight groan as she pinched the bridge of her nose with the fingers of her right hand. "Only you would say something like that to such a revelation, Kirito. You never change, no matter the era."

"And I don't expect him to," Scathach added, a slight smirk gracing her lips. "I'm rather proud of the progress my foster son has made over these last few years. I find his casual persona…refreshing. It was especially a highlight during the War of Light and Shadow."

Everyone else shared a laugh at that. The hospital was closing soon. There was no sign of Takumu. It would seem that he will not be making his move today. Chances are that he will come early in the morning, as soon as the hospital opens again. Marth found himself watching footage of Kuroyukihime in the nanomachine, fighting just to stay alive, as he sat down on the bench.

It was all his fault that she was in this condition. If he wasn't so distrusting, so distracted, he could've prevented this situation from happening. He had already taken the first step of atoning for his actions, now he just needed to defeat Takumu once and for all. He'll only have a split second to challenge that traitor to a duel. If Takumu manages to challenge Kuroyukihime to a duel while she's still unconscious, he'll easily defeat her and take her remaining burst points, causing her to lose Brain Burst forever. If she loses Brain Burst, then she'll never get the answers that she so desperately sought, answers that she sacrificed everything for the chance to obtain.

Suddenly he felt a warm hand cup his own, causing him to jump a little from the contact. He turned to his right to see Fuko sitting beside him. Kisara was on his left, while Yuna was sitting in her lap, having reverted to her doll form, the former deciding to get some sleep and using Marth's shoulder as a makeshift pillow. Yuna's doll appearance was similar to that of her human form, but her outfit was simpler, a bit surprising for the possession of a literal princess. Then again, Kisara never cared much about acting like a princess, probably because while she and her brother were royalty, they've been living in hiding on Earth for all their lives.

Fuko had a comforting smile on her face, somehow making Marth feel more relaxed. "She'll be just fine. Hime's a strong girl," she said in assurance. "She'll pull through, especially if what Rias said about her is true."

"Thanks, Fuko. But the thing I'm worried about is my role. I have to make sure Takumu can't challenge her to a duel. If I'm even a nanosecond off, she'll lose everything. Her fate's entirely in my hands."

The brunette let out a lighthearted giggle. "You sure know how to pressure yourself," she said fervently. "Then again, that's part of what I like about you. You act all cold and distant, but deep down, you're just a big softie. But looking back, I knew that about you from the day I first met you."

Marth smiled at that, though it was faint. This girl next to him really did have a strong effect on him. Her kindness almost made him want to tell him about his curse, almost. But he reined it in. The Curse of Calamity was his problem, not hers. He need not scare her with it.

Exhaustion was beginning to creep up on him. He had been able to hold it off for this long thanks to his willpower, but the stress of the accident as well as the strain of maintaining control of himself in that form was starting to take their toll. After making sure that the hospital was indeed closed, Marth closed his eyes and went to sleep.


Marth found himself standing in a strange circular corridor. It was decently sized, capable of containing more than two dozen people and was alit with ominous blue flames located at the top of ornate ivory pillars near the edges of the room. He wasn't alone though as he could about a dozen or so humans scattered everywhere, all wearing cheap armor. They all looked really beat up and were trembling with fear.

As for what caused this, it had to be the large blue-furred monster located in the center of the corridor. It looked like a bipedal goat with its curved golden horns and navy-blue hooved feet. Its arms were bulky, the right hand effortlessly carrying a massive one-edge sword that resembled a zanbato. Its eyes were a menacing aqua blue and it had a purple cobra for a tail.

Even though this was his first time seeing this beast, Marth knew what it was called. Its powerful presence shook the demon to his very core. The monster brought out a phantom fear from within him. The fear of death.

"Gleam Eyes," he muttered under his breath, his voice sounding unsteady.

There were three people engaging with the human-goat hybrid, two of them Marth easily recognized. The first was Kirito, but he was garbed in a black overcoat with silver trimming with the rest of his outfit being a similar color. He was also wielding a black longsword with a rather unique design. Elucidator, one of the best swords one could get as a monster drop, but how did Marth know this? And why wasn't Kirito dual-wielding?

The second person was Asuna, wearing a combat uniform of white with red accents. She was wielding the blue-and-white rapier, Lambent Light, and was moving about with the same nimbleness that Marth knew her to have. As for the third person, seeing them somehow made the demon's heart fill up with sorrow.

It was girl, around sixteen or so. She had violet purple hair with a matching outfit consisting of obsidian chest armor a long-sleeved bluebottle violet tunic which showed part of her sides, as well as her shoulders, purple fingerless gloves, a windswept shirt that went a little bit past her thighs and parted on her right leg of the same color, and purple high heeled boots that went all the way up to her knees. In her right hand was a skinny purple sword.

Who was this girl? Marth felt like he knew her name. It was at the tip of his tongue but just barely out of reach. He finally looked at himself and saw that he was wearing a black overcoat with bloodred accents, gray pants, red gloves, and black boots. Strapped to his back was Lunara. Strangely, he didn't have a second sword with him.

It looked like the trio was struggling to hold back Gleam Eyes, who was surprisingly agile despite its huge body and its massive weapon gave it a big attack range. It was clear that they were trying to keep the monster away from the downed armored group, who were being moved out of the corridor by a small guild of men dressed in samurai armor. One of those samurai also looked familiar to the demon. He felt like he had seen that short red hair and stubby beard before.

Marth shook his head to interrupt the thought. Now wasn't the time to be distracted. His eyes widened as he saw Gleam Eyes swing a powerful horizontal slash towards the purple-haired swordswoman. The girl managed to block it with her skinny sword, but the impact sent her careening into one of the lit pillars. It wasn't fatal by any means, but given how she limply fell to her knees, wheezing for breath, she wouldn't be returning to the fray for a while.

Gleam Eyes tried to exploit the opportunity to finish her off while she was down with a breath attack after knocking Kirito and Asuna unbalance with a Sword Skill. Panic surged from within Marth as he realized that the purple-haired girl would be killed if he did nothing.

As if possessed by some unseen force, Marth rushed to intercept, Lunara in hand. "YUUKI!" he bellowed, the name sounding both foreign and nostalgic to him.

Sinestra herself seemed to take pity on him as he barely managed to get between the monster and girl just as Gleam Eyes finished charging its breath attack. It unleashed a plume of purple flames, rapidly making its way towards the demon prince.

"No, Marth!" the girl, Yuuki, cried out in fear. "Save yourself. Don't worry about me!"

But Marth didn't listen. Instead he planted his feet firmly on the blue stone floor and activated the One-Handed Sword defense skill, Spinning Shield. The skill had Marth stretch his sword arm out in front of him and spin his black blade at impossible speeds. Just in time too as the flames soon reached the demon swordsman, but none of them managed to even touch his body. He could feel the strong heat on his fingers but they were in no danger of burning as the flames simply parted away from his body, and more importantly, away from Yuuki.

Soon the breath attack ended, as did the Spinning Shield. However, Marth's body went rigid, the price of activating any Sword Skill. The post-motion delay lasts only for a few seconds, but even that is deadly in a battle. Marth could only watch as Gleam Eyes attempted to cleave him in two with its massive sword.

Thankfully luck was on Marth's side this time as Kirito managed to deflect the blow with his own sword, but only just barely.

"Thanks, partner," Marth said with a slight smile on his face.

Kirito returned the gesture before they both had to jump back to avoid another massive swing from Gleam Eyes.

"At this rate, this'll take forever," the Black Swordsman said in annoyance. "The only way we can finish this boss is if we use that. But then everyone will…"

He didn't finish that sentence, but for some reason, Marth knew exactly what his best friend was talking about. A Unique Skill that they both acquired under mysterious circumstances. Dual Blades, the Extra Skill that allowed one to use dual-wielding Sword Skills.

Revealing that Unique Skill definitely had big drawbacks, namely drawing the ire or envy of most of the players of Sword Art Online. However, it might be the only thing that can end this boss fight quickly.

"We don't have a choice, Kirito," Marth said solemnly. "We end this now. We'll deal with the repercussions later. I'm used to getting looked down upon by people. I don't really care if people view me as a monster."

The Black Swordsman simply shook his head in defeat. "You're as cold as always, Marth. It's no wonder people call you the Dark Swordsman." He tightened his grip on his own sword. "But you're right. We have to dual wield. It's the only way."

Kirito ordered for Asuna, Yuuki, and red-haired samurai (whose name was apparently Klein) to hold back Gleam Eyes for at least ten seconds. He and Marth then fell back before accessing their system menus (Marth decided to just roll with it as this all felt very familiar to him) and went into their skill settings.

The sounds of their comrades struggling to hold back the Floor Boss ringed in their ears, but they kept their focus. They had to, otherwise everyone here will die. Soon they both found the Dual-Blades Extra Skill and subsequently activating it, causing two certain swords to begin materializing on their backs.

Not wasting a single second, the Darkness Duo rushed towards the Floor Boss just as Asuna and Yuuki managed to repel its sword with a joint Sword Skill. Klein had been knocked to the side on his stomach but he seemed alright.

"Switch!" Marth cried out, another familiar phrase to him.

The two girls moved to the side as the black-garbed boys closed in, right as two teal blue crystalline longswords finished spawning in on their backs. Light Repulser and Dark Repulser. The dual wielders drew their second blades and unleashed a joint attack on the Floor Boss, sending it backward.

Marth could feel everyone's gaping expressions at them, but he forced himself to ignore it. Instead he focused his attention on the fight in front of him.

"Starburst," Kirito started.

"Myriad," Marth muttered coldly, his eyes narrowing.

"Stream!"

"Heaven!"

And together, the two unleashed one of their strongest attacks of their Unique Skill, with them both totaling at sixteen hits. The fierce sounds of their battle cries echoed through the halls as they relentlessly assaulted Gleam Eyes, neither not caring about the damage they were taking from its counterattacks.


Marth woke up with a start and found himself back in the hospital. His breathing was unsteady and his forehead was caked in sweat. Sunlight was creeping from the horizon outside, meaning that it was morning.

"Was that all…a dream?" he wondered to himself. "But it felt so real."

"Sleep well?"

He turned his head to see Kazuto was already awake with a hint of concern in his eyes. The fellow dual-wielder also looked a bit raggedy, like he had just woken up from a nightmare. It wouldn't be the first time the demon saw his best friend like this.

"Not really," Marth said honestly. "I had a strange dream. I was…"

"In a strange room where you and I fought a huge blue goat-human," Kazuto interrupted nonchalantly.

The demon prince's eyes widened in surprise. "You had that dream too?"

"Yup. I think that was one of our missing memories. Mom did mention that they might slowly return through dreams. But that couldn't have happened during the War of Light and Shadow. Our names were all wrong."

"Agreed." Marth held his head in his right hand, careful not to wake Fuko and Kisara, who were both still soundly asleep. For some reason, he found his thoughts turning a book he once read regarding an incident that occurred around 2022. He didn't know why he read it, but he found himself drawn to it. It documented the story of the very first VRMMO, Sword Art Online (created by none other than Akihiko Kayaba Satoshi Shiraki), which released around November and ten thousand people all logged in on its opening day, but they all soon learned that once they logged in, they couldn't log out, and if they died in the game, they would die in real life thanks to the NerveGear frying their brains. The only way to escape was to clear the game by beating Floor 100. It was a terrible tragedy that lasted two years, killing at least four thousand people. In the end, the game was cleared, thanks to the efforts of an infamous Beater duo called the Darkness Duo. They both had their separate nicknames, and were former beta testers of SAO, and they put an end to the death game by defeating Kayaba and Shiraki in a duel on Floor 75, where they had ousted their real identities as the co-leaders of the Knights of Blood.

The names of the Darkness Duo shocked the demon prince when he saw them. They were named Kirito the Black Swordsman, and Marth the Dark Swordsman. They were him and Kazuto. Naturally he had told this to everyone when he found out and they shocked as well. It was understandable really. How could Marth and Kirito have been alive back then in mid-2020 while they were living in an era thirty years in the future?

The only ones who weren't shocked were Rias and Scathach. While Demon Lord of Lust admitted that she herself didn't know the full story, she knew that Marth and his friends (this was before he had met Fuko) had lived in a different era, the era where VRMMOs started. As to how they ended up in this era, as children no less, that was unknown to even her.

"So I guess I really was the Black Swordsman of Aincrad," Kazuto mused. "And you were…"

"The Dark Swordsman," Marth finished coldly. Despite getting some of his memories back, he did not feel relaxed. If anything, he felt frustrated at remembering that title. It was a title from an old life, a different time, a different mask. "I knew it all along, no matter how much I denied it. But the Dark Swordsman is dead. He died a long time ago."

Kazuto didn't answer, largely because everyone else was starting to awaken. They all shared a morning greeting, but it was anything but cheery. It would seem that they were all plagued by dreams from their pasts. Soon they began discussing their plan on how to deal with Cyan Pile as the hospital began opening for the day.

Marth will be the first to challenge him to a duel, with Kazuto and Fuko spectating. If he was unable to defeat the coward, then one of them would step in and finish the job. It was risky. It would all fail if any of them were even a second behind. One slip-up, and the Black King would be no more and Kuroyukihime would lose Brain Burst forever.

"Master Marth," Yuna suddenly spoke up, pointing towards the entrance with her small doll hand.

He and the others turned to look. As expected, Takumu was there, just now entering through the electronic doors. Kisara visibly reeled back in shock to see him. No one had messaged him about their location, and he didn't attend their school so there was no reason for him to be there. There was no doubt about it. He is Cyan Pile. He is the one who abused Kisara's trust and put that backdoor program on her Neurolinker, all to constantly harass Kuroyukihime.

Takumu soon noticed the group and suddenly smirked.

"It's now or never."

Marth rose to his feet, the blanket falling to the floor and cried out, "Burst Link!"

To be continued


I am really sorry for the late update. I was having computer issues and it really killed my motivation to write. I'll try to get back into the swing of things but with college starting up and me doing it full-time, I don't know how long it will take for the next chapter. I hope you all understand. Anyway, the next chapter should end the Cyan Pile arc (good God I can't believe it's lasted this long), then I can move on to the Chrome Disaster arc. I'll see you guys next time!